We all have our own way of escape and just like the 60’s & 70’s came and went with their fads, so our ways of dealing with life have changed. Some found their way of escape through simply repressing the daily burdens that come with life. In this era many became hardened and their children felt the effects of life’s obstacles. The music of the time speaks true to this. Television on the other hand, chose to ignore most of this…Filtering what the audience knew and could be affected by. There is nothing to worry about or fight about if no one knows about it, right?

Then the children of the repressed decided to deal with things in a different manner. In a way, they still repressed everything and were blissfully ignorant. They sought drugs and stimulants to drown out any problems and live in a high where everything is ok. They committed themselves to causes and helping their fellow brother, instead of worrying about the issues that were close to home. They chose to love to an extreme, instead of fight.

The next generation thought that the previous escape needed tweaking and they took it to a different end of the spectrum. They favored showing their anger in a physical, yet fashionable manner. They exposed themselves through their clothes, hair, makeup, and music. Everything was extreme, everything was fake, and everything was public and in your face. This is where journalism really started to take it to the next level. They started reporting and “idealizing” these extreme mannerisms. It did not take long for this to catch on as an avenue to show your individuality. Everyone wanted to be different and yet equal….Noticed and yet left alone.

Since, our manner has slowly progressed, but we have not made any drastic changes in our methods. We still express ourselves by the way we look, and use our music as a mode of release and refuge. Today, we use a combination of manners to deal with our emotions. We either repress it, drown it, take it out on someone else, or simply deal with it and move on.

The main change is that nothing is set in stone today and it’s nearly impossible to tell what is true. Media has perfected portraying situations and people. It has proved an effective means to control the knowledge we are given and the way that we feel. This is the one thing that has remained through our phases and it is now deep rooted in us to rely on other people for our knowledge of the world and the way we should feel about it. We are shown but clips and glimpses in to life as it is now and we are given storybook images of popular public figures; things that we are suppose to support and feel comforted by. On the other hand, we are shown the bad and ugly, things to oppose and fight. In these clips and glimpses that we are provided we miss all of the normal, mundane, and obscure… that someone, somewhere, decided wasn’t important for us to know, or maybe thought, why make everyone worry?

I leave you with this question, “What is your means of expression and just how much do you know about what is going on today….And these things you think you know….Can you prove them with facts?” After asking myself these questions I was inspired to write the poetic ramble below. I hope you enjoy, and even more so, I hope that you think…

Swayed Reality

I live my life based on you, telling me what I can and cannot do. Most of my knowledge is simply second hand and most of these things I don’t understand. We have stretched our arms too far and wide, when we come you had better hide. You’ll become our host and take our shape and form…Once you are transformed, the only escape is being reborn.

We tell you what we want you to hear and let you watch what we want you to see. We have molded our own little version of reality. It’s a little too much like the Matrix, now that I think. You can open your eyes now, it’s time to un-link. Escape this mass-slavery, which is in fact what we are…Our masters are just nicer than most, or they are so far…

Next time you hear something that is said, listen carefully for your decisions make your bed….Where you will sleep for the rest of your days, get up and open your eyes….Come out of the haze.